Ignite
by Jayalek
Summary: Lucy is sick and tired of relying on others for help. With a new threat like nothing she has faced before and perhaps a little mental unbalance, how will she cope with her new found feelings towards a certain Fire Dragon Slayer? NALU! Spoilers passed Tarteros Arc!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Heyo! Daiki02 here to bring you guys another story! If you are not caught up with the manga or anime than this has major spoilers by the way, so read at your own risks! Not my fault if I spoil anything for you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

 **1**

* * *

 _'Oh, dear mother, I love you_

 _I'm sorry, I wasn't good enough_

 _Dear father, forgive me_

 _'Cause in your eyes, I just never added up_

 _In my heart I know I failed you, but you left me here alone_

 _If I could hold back the rain, would you numb the pain?_

 _'Cause I remember everything._

 _If I could help you forget, would you take my regrets?_

 _'Cause I remember everything.'_

 _-Remember Everything,_ Five Finger Death Punch

* * *

It was a cool spring night, the waning moon showing high above the city of Magnolia, so bright was it someone could navigate through the city without need of a light source. The stars were twinkling silently in the dark clear sky, reflecting off the still canals that crisscrossed the large city. It was late into the night and well into the early hours of the morning, everyone in town was fast asleep.

Lucy Heartfilia lay in her bed, tossing and turning in her unconscious state. She had kicked off her pink comforter already, despite the coldness of her room she was burning hot. Her face was flushed her eyes loosely screwed shut. She wore nothing but a shirt she had stolen from her fire eating partner. It was one of his rare shirts that was not a vest or one sleeved. She checked, he only had around five or six normal shirts.

Normally, the soft black shirt fell well passed her bottom. But thanks to her tossing and turning, the silky fabric had hiked up to her hips leaving her underwear visible. She had kicked off her shorts as well, they lay on the ground below.

The moon in the sky was casting eery long shadows across her room, if the young blonde was awake she surely would've been uneasy. Not that she already was. It was deathly quiet in her three level apartment, the only sound was her distressed whines and moans, maybe a few slurred words would slip passed her lips.

She rolled over again, her teeth loosely gritted as she let out another whine. It was a miracle the blonde had not woken up yet, perhaps it was because she had been sleeping so terribly the past months. Or the dangerous mission she had taken with Team Natsu earlier that day, but she still was asleep and having an obvious nightmare.

"No..." She whispered, her voice having an obvious slur from being unconscious. "Aquarius..."

To Lucy she was not in her room, she was back in the Plutogrim. She was alone fighting the whole wrath of Tarteros. Jackal stood above her with that maniac smile of his as he tortured her, his explosion curse working on every inch of her body.

The blonde was curled up on the hard ground, the wet rocks digging into her beaten and broken body. She lay in a pool of her own blood, her dull brown eyes staring into nothingness as Jackal cackled loudly. He was a monster, how could someone enjoying hurting someone like this?

Lucy closed her eyes, trying not to scream as fire burned through her calf. Blood poured out of the new wound where it had not already cauterised itself. Tears leaking unwillingly down her bruised and beaten face, dripping down to the ground below.

She wanted to call out for help, but she knew no one would come. Everyone in Fairy Tail was dead, at least that's what Jackal had told her.

Lucy was not aware she was dreaming, these images and feelings were so real she believed she was back in Tarteros. "How?" Lucy croaked. "How are you still here? The dragons... Igneel... The Celestial Spirit King, he..."

Jackal cackled louder, kicking her in the gut causing her to curl farther into herself with a cry. "You think a couple of overgrown lizards and an old man could defeat the likes of Tarteros?"

Lucy was sure they had won the battle against Tarteros. The dragons, Metalicana, Grandeeney, Skiadrum, and Weislogia had destroyed face. Igneel had fallen against Achnologia. The Celestial Spirit King had totally annihilated Plutogrim. She had taken down Jackal with Urano Metria, so why was he here?

"Your not real." Lucy whimpered with finality.

"Oh I'm real, sweet cheeks." Jackal mocked, leaning down to grab her chin and bring it closer to his face. "You can never get rid of me."

The scene changed then and instead of Jackal, Aquarius stood in front of her holding her chin, glaring down at her with cold blue eyes. This was different than her normal glare, where her eyes just shown annoyance. No, Aquarius's eyes were alight with absolute hate and fury, and what hurt most of all was pain.

"Why, Lucy?" She asked, her voice cracking despite the angry tone she took. "Why did you break my key?"

"N-no!" Lucy cried, attempting to get up but something weighed her down. "I had to! I-I... It was the only way to save everyone." She whimpered the last part, her gut churning in shame.

"You weigh your friends on a set of scales?" Aquarius barked. "You killed me to save everyone else? What kind of Celestial Mage are you?"

Lucy cried harder, it wasn't true. She wasn't dead! ' _Aquarius promised me that she would be okay when her key broke,'_ She thought to herself desparingly. ' _Scorpio said... He said that she was okay! But... What if she just said that so I would summon the Celestial Spirit King?'_

"I'm dead, and its all your fault. If you were stronger I would still be alive." She snarled, aggressively letting go of her face pushing her to the ground, turning she began to fade away. "No, Aquarius! Come back!" Lucy called desperately reaching towards where her first friend disappeared.

"Aquarius!" Lucy screamed, shooting up frantically looking around her room. Fear shot through her for a moment when she couldn't recognize her own room. It was such a different scene than what she was just experiencing. But her eyes finally alit with recognizance, she was safe.

But she was alone. Her heart beat quickened, she was alone.

Lucy stared uneasily at the shadows, half expecting Jackal to stalk out of them with that cruel smirk, his hand alight with his curse. She could hear his insane laughter as clear as day. Lucy curled into a ball closing her eyes, covering her ears with her hands; where was Natsu?

"Natsu..." Lucy sobbed. She began to cry, not caring if anyone heard her. She sobbed loudly into her pillow, hiccuping and hacking as she tried in vain to get her emotions under control. She felt so alone, the attack of Tarteros happened months ago, she shouldn't still be scared.

Without the three main Dark Guilds, the Barem Alliance was falling apart. Lucy and the rest of Fairy Tail where busy getting rid of the smaller and weaker Dark Guilds that were causing chaos in their confusion. Team Natsu had destroyed three in just the passed month.

Lucy had worked herself to the bone with helping rebuild the whole city. In and out of the guild with requests to help reconstruct houses and fix them if they were still standing. Lucy had achieved so much money she was set on her rent for more than six months. Which she had responsibly given to her landlady right away... Which left her broke again.

To add to this exhausting regiment, Lucy had to help Mira and Levy reorganize the Fairy Tail library. Everyday she was not on a mission she would go down stairs and help till she just about fell asleep on her feet. Organizing books took a surprising amount of math and time. They had to carefully categorize each book from relativity and genre.

Luckily for her, Natsu made it his top priority to get her every night and made sure she got home safely. His excuse was he didn't want her falling into the canal half asleep, which she had done a couple of times in the past regrettably.

But once she got home she was tormented with night terrors that would not relent unless Natsu had snuck into her bed while she was sleeping. Maybe it was something subconscious telling her she was not alone in her sleep that stopped them. Whatever it was Lucy was glad, Natsu usually came for uninvited visits at least thrice a week. But he wasn't coming tonight.

Lucy let out a shaky breath, rubbing away the tears with the back of her palm. Her gut was set uncomfortably and her eyes felt heavy. After all, crying was very tiring. Shakily, Lucy got to her feet, numbly the blonde walked to her bathroom. Her eyes not focusing on anything.

She flicked the light switch on, momentarily blinded by her bright bathroom lights. The Celestial Mage quickly walked over to the sink, turning on the faucet she cupped her hands underneath the downpour of water. Splashing her face with the icy cold water Lucy let out a breath. Placing her palms on the cold linoleum of her sink counter, she locked her arms holding her weight.

Her brown gaze flickered to her reflection, her eyes were red and puffed up, dark bags under here them. She was almost sickly pale and her eyes seemed dull. The dim light of her bathroom giving her unattractive shadows.

Lucy's eyes widened as her reflection's own brown eyes narrowed at her. The world around her seemed to darken and stand still. Fear gripped the blonde's heart, she was back.

 _"Your so weak."_ The reflection snarled at her. _"Always need someone to come and save you. Mom would be ashamed."_

"Shut up." Lucy gritted out. She didn't need this right now.

" _What's wrong, Lucy?_ " Her reflection mocked. " _Don't like hearing the truth? Let's face it, your holding your guildmates back with your pitiful existence!"_

"I said shut up!" Lucy snarled, cocking her fist back she unleashed her anger on the mirror. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at her fist, a trail of blood falling along the contours of the shattered glass.

She stared at her reflection, the many facets of the broken glass reflecting the same picture at different angles. Her face looked cracked and broken.

' _Maybe this is me on the inside?_ ' Lucy thought to herself bitterly. _'Cracked and broken like glass.'_

Letting her bleeding hand fall to her side Lucy stared for what seemed like hours at the broken mirror. Her mind was blank and she thought about nothing and everything.

Then suddenly she turned, quickly she changed her clothes into something more appropriate for the chilly air outside. Slipping on a pair of jogging shoes Lucy pulled on a jacket and a bag full of a couple necessities. She would show everyone that she was strong. She just had to go train.

With that thought in her head Lucy headed out of her apartment, locking it on the way out.

Walking out to the cobblestone street, Lucy turned and began to jog towards the East Forest. Her keys jingling softly with every step.

* * *

 **A/N: Something I came up with earlier today. It started out as just a whim to write something new but I'm actually liking this idea a lot. I honestly don't know where I'm going with it right now but hopefully it's gonna be good.**

 **Now, Lucy is kind of insane in this. She has a bad case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and who wouldn't in her situation? She was left alone and had to fight an insane guy that even Natsu struggled against. She had to sacrifice her very first friend to save everyone else and is sure to be struggling with immense guilt after wards. Aquarius may have hated Lucy, she said so herself. But she was there for Lucy when Layla died, she was there at every step of Lucy's life and I think their relationship was very special.**

 **Anyway, hope you like this and tell me if I should keep going with this, yeah?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Fairy Tail, all rights belong to Hiro Mashima**

* * *

 **2**

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 _'Crawling through mud, what's the difference_  
 _When you come out on the other side_  
 _Falling from grace, what's the difference_  
 _When you come out on the other side_  
 _The other side_  
 _The other side_

 _Where you come out alone'_

 _-The Otherside, Red Sun Rising_

* * *

It was a cool spring morning, a new day was beginning. Full of hope and the very idea that anything could happen. The sun peaking mischievously over the subdued rainbow blossom trees that weren't due to blossom for awhile yet.

The morning birds called their songs, stirred by the annoying light. The dew beginning to disappear under the rays of the morning sun. In the distance a rooster crowd a raucous call, jostling those who had yet to awaken.

The blinding light of the sun would be a minor annoyance to some, but to Lucy Heartfilia, it was the bane of her existence as she tried desperately to keep it out of her eyes as she held herself upside down. Her arms trembling at the strain of keeping herself balanced and steady.

With a slow outtake of breath she lowered herself till her nose brushed the dew soaked grass beneath her. She held that position for a few moments before slowly pushing herself back up to her original position. Carefully locking her arms so they wouldn't collapse on her.

The blonde woman wore nothing but a black sports bra and a black pair of joggers. She had long since tossed her shoes and shirt to the side. Her hair tied up in a high pony tail to keep it out of her face, at least that was the plan. Since she had gotten up at an ungodly hour to train, many strands had fallen out.

Her bag lay on the opposite side of the field she was currently in. Along with her whip and keys. Inside her bag was a change of clothes and some food she had packed for the day. She planned on staying out in the East Forest all day today. Team Natsu was taking a leave on missions for a couple weeks after just finishing a risky S-class assignment. Everyone was relaxing and healing up; luckily Lucy wasn't injured that bad on the mission so she decided to train.

Capricorn was scheduled to come and help her later that day, she needed some peace and quiet so she had trekked into the East Forest so she would not be disturbed.

After all, Celestial spells leaned on the more subtle side of magic training. It was more finesse and meditation rather than hitting something really hard over and over again.

Lucy also didn't want Fairy Tail to know she was pushing herself so hard. Though she caught some worried glances from Mirajane when Lucy would come stumbling in with a banged up shoulder from her rigorous training.

Lucy was working herself to the bone everyday, she did not get home till well into the early hours of the morning. She would wake up, if she slept at all, around four to five in the morning screaming. Honestly, it was better to not sleep at all. At least then she wouldn't have nightmares.

But staying awake had its one sets of problems. She would come to her almost every night. Lucy had taken to calling her Yami, she looked just like herself. But Yami was a completely different identity than Lucy. She rarely spoke, maybe a sentence or two a night and she would leave as soon as Lucy would break down crying. She had no idea who Yami was, or why she was so intent on haunting her till she went insane.

Her down right suicidal regimen was taking a toll on her social life as well. She was becoming irratible and introvert. Lucy didn't want to go to the guild hall anymore, she could not waste time with them. She needed to get stronger to protect them.

The take-over mage, Mirajane, had even taken Lucy to a backroom in the guild hall and talked to her. The blonde didn't need her sympathy or worries. She was fine and she was going to remain fine.

What made things worse was that Loke, one of her Celestial Spirits refused to spar with her now. The only one of her spirits that actually would was Scorpio, with some hesitation; and Virgo if she insisted enough.

Couldn't Loke see she was doing this for them? She was getting stronger so she wouldn't have to lose another friend!

Sweat slid down the taut curves of her stomach, cascading in droplets as they appeared, reflecting the sun's rays. Perspiration gathered along her throat, pooling along the underside of her chin dripping down to the ground below. Lucy panted quietly, groaning lowly at the burning in her biceps and shoulders.

Gritting her teeth at the strain, Lucy carefully repositioned her outspread hands on the slick ground. Her right hand was bandaged tightly from destroying her mirror last week. Momentarily losing her balance, her legs wobbled for a moment before halting as the sensation of about to fall over receded.

She huffed in annoyance as the light of the sun blinded her, closing her eyes she blew a golden strand of hair that had stuck to her wet forehead away. She let out another steady breath as she lowered herself to the ground, holding it for a few moments she prepared to push herself back up.

"Whatcha doin' Luce?" Came a loud voice right next to her.

With a squawk of suprise, Lucy fell. Her whole body weight came crashing onto her head. She didn't move for a long moment, slowly processing the pain on her poor noggin. Rolling onto her rear, Lucy rubbed her hurt head tenderly with a whine of protest.

She glared up at the man standing in front of her who was currently curled over himself because he was laughing so hard. Though she pretended to be angry, Lucy was relieved to see him and instantly felt happier just being in his presence.

He was tall, at least a head taller then Lucy. She remembered the good old days when they were the same height and it was so much easier to yell at him. He had an unruly mop of pink hair that went passed his chin, most of it tied back into a small ponytail. He wore a dark one sleeved shirt, his right arm covered in bandages. Around his neck was his white scarf that Lucy in all the years they had known each other, never seen him without only once, and that was when Tarteros attacked months ago.

"Natsu!" Lucy howled, swooping her leg out, she hooked his foot with her own tripping him. He fell to the ground with a loud thump, but the pink haired idiot was still laughing his ass off. With the ground closer now, Natsu rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach as tears gathered in his eyes.

'It really wasn't that funny...' Lucy grumbled in her head, her brown gaze still glaring at him. Once she told him such he only laughed harder. Pouting Lucy turned away grumbling a childish "I hate you."

Instantly, arms were wrapped around her bare torso as he pulled her to his chest. Which was a very bad idea for two reasons. One: she was soaked in sweat. Two: she was still mad at him.

"Lemme go!" Lucy whined, half heartedly trying to get out of his grip. Feebly reaching for the trees on the other side of the clearing.

Natsu smiled wickedly at her, "Not till you take it back!" He crowed, rubbing his head into her neck tenderly. His fool attempts of getting on her good side would not work.

"Take what back?" Lucy asked feigning innocents, avoiding his gaze as she childishly stared at a leaf next to the duo.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, before threateningly wiggled his fingers at her, a dangerous glint filled his eyes. Instantly, Lucy knew what he was about to do. "No." She tried to say with finality, but her voice shook. "No. Don't you dare. Natsu-"

She was cut off when his fingers dug into her sides and she let out a shriek. She tried desperately to get out of the crazy man's grip but he held firm. She tried to scream again but was cut off my her own laughter as she twisted and turned in her partners grip.

"N-Natsu!" Lucy gasped pushing against his broad chest as she tried to escape him.

"Take it back!" Natsu sang, not letting her go as he tickled her abdomen without mercy. She could tell the green eyes idiot was enjoying this immensely. Jerk.

"I t-take it back!" Lucy cried, tears gathering in her eyes from laughing so hard. "Mercy, Great Demon Lord Dragneel!" She added the last part to get in his favor. Oh how the tables have turned.

Natsu thought about it for a minute, pausing in his action. "I will forgive you this once, Lady Lucy." He said, playing along. Finally stopping.

With a sigh of relief she collapsed in his hold, her stomach burning. Lucy steadily regained her breath, letting out an airy laugh every couple of moments. She didn't really care she was sweaty at the moment and was to comfortable to move, Natsu didn't seem to mind either.

"How'd you find me?" Lucy breathed, staring up at the blue sky.

"You weren't home so I tracked your scent." Natsu replied nonchalantly, leaning back onto the balms of his hands.

"Oh." Lucy replied, she knew Natsu could track people. She had seen him do it all the time on missions but... He'd never really tracked her before.

"So whattya doin', way out here?" Natsu asked, looking down at her. "The East Forest is pretty dangerous y'know."

"I know." Lucy assured. "I'm training." She began to stretch across his lap, her yawn blocked out the sound of his nervous gulp. He seemed to just now remember something and looked terribly uncomfortable.

"Y'know, Luce... You've been training an awful lot lately." Natsu began, he seemed to be trying to approach this subject carefully.

"Yeah? What of it?" Lucy questioned, raising an eyebrow. Annoyance began to bubble in her gut, they were having a good time and he just had to ruin it. Just in the Natsu fashion! "I am free to do whatever I want, Natsu. I am not a child to be coddled you know!" She snapped, climbing out of his lap to stand up as she began to walk away. She couldn't deal with this right now. She heard him stand up to and his foot steps following her.

"Lucy." Natsu growled. Lucy paused in shock, turning her head slightly to look at him out of the corner of her eye. Natsu never called her _'Lucy_ ', he usually stuck with the nickname 'Luce' and if he really wanted to annoy her, ' _Luigi_ '.

"Your not eating. Your barely sleeping. Can't you see that we are all worried about you?" Natsu demanded, grabbing hold of her arm to hold her in place.

"Well, can't you see that I am perfectly fine?" Lucy snarled back, attempting to pull herself out of his grip.

"No, your not!" The Dragon Slayer growled. Then his eyes softened and he looked defeated, "Why don't you trust me, Luce?" He whispered. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes, "You wanna know what's wrong Natsu?" She demanded, her stomach felt like a roiling mass of fire from her anger. Lucy could not even register that he was just worried for her, all she saw was that he doubted her. He thought she was weak. That she couldn't handle a few extra hours of training. She would get through this block, alone.

"That my own partner doesn't believe in me."

* * *

 **AN: Wow, this did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I almost feel as if Lucy is a bit to whiny, maybe that's just me? So I have officially named Lucy's weird... Hallucination thing. I can't remember what it is called exactly. We didn't see any of Yami in this chapter but trust me, she's important.**

 **Oh yeah, and just because someone is depressed and slightly insane doesn't mean they can't have a little fun with someone they are comfortable with! I tried really hard to show that Lucy is still Lucy even though she's... Having some issues. I'm still trying to make this as realistic as I can so...**

 **I was almost half tempted not to continue this story, but some amazing people inspired me to keep going! And those people are...**

 **FairyTail96** **-** ** _I am so happy you like this and thank you! ^^_**

 **WolfSlayerGirl17** **-** ** _Thank you thank you thank you! I really thought that the aftermath of losing Aquarius was an original idea and it seemed like a fun one to write! (And it is)_**

 **Dark Shining Light:** ** _Holy crap you really made my day! Thank you so much!_**

 **Mira.S-** **I continued it! ;) Hope you like this chapter!**

 **Well, see you guys next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I will not or never will own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

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3

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 _'One tear in the dropping rain_

 _One voice in a sea of pain_

 _Could the maker of the stars_

 _Hear the sound of my breaking heart_

 _One light, that's all I am_

 _Right now I can barely stand_

 _If You're everything You say You are_

 _Won't You come close and hold my heart'_

 _-Hold My Heart,_ Tenth Avenue North

* * *

Lucy slammed the door closed to her apartment loudly. An immature act she knew but she was angry and decided to take it out on her poor apartment. Stalking into her kitchen, the blonde filled a glass of water and drank the cool liquid. However, that did nothing to quench the fires of anger roiling in her stomach.

She couldn't believe the gall of that no good fire eating freak! What did he know? Nothing! He had never asked her what happened at Tarteros, he never noticed she was hurting before this! So why should he care?

What made things worse was that Lucy had to take the back allies back to her home. Her pride would not let her go back and retrieve her clothing, her pack was still in the East Forest, with her shoes, and shirt... And keys. Out of habbit, Lucy felt fear rise in her stomach; when Aquarius found out she had left her key on some sweaty old bag she would...

Do nothing.

The Celestial Mage collapsed onto a wooden chair at her table, putting her head in her hands as she let out a shaky breath. Digging the heels of her palms into her eyes the blonde willed herself not to cry, she had cried enough already. But she could not stop the painful tightness in her throat as she tried to hold back a sob.

Her feet stung from walking bare foot all the way home, she was sure she stepped on at least one or two sharp rocks on the way home. And the rough gravel road out of the east forest did not help at all. The soles of her feet were black with dirt and Mavis knew what else. Her eyes traveled to the front door and she huffed lightly, she had tracked dirt and mud in. She would have to clean that up later.

Numbly she took out the hair tie that held her golden locks in place, pulling it around her wrist as her hair tumbled down the small of her back. It was getting long, she realized. She would have to call Cancer out later to trim it again.

Or she could let it grow out some more? Picking up a few strands between her index finger and thumb she studied them closely. The reflected a gold in the dim light of her kitchen. She hummed to herself, she would cut it when she got over this block in her life. She decided with a nod to herself.

Letting the strands go Lucy placed her chin in the palm of her hands, leaning her elbows against the table she stared at the wall. Scars deep and small ran along the walls from where Happy had scratched at it. The blonde snorted to herself, she had finally gotten the stupid furball a scratching post so he would stop ruining her carpets and walls.

She hadn't seen Happy in a while, she realized with a start. As much as the ball of fur annoyed her at times, she really did miss him. But most of her was reluctant to go to the Guild Hall. She felt uncomfortable there, which was a first for her. Lucy had always enjoyed spending time at Fairy Tail, but now the cramped up spaces and copious amounts of people made her claustrophobic.

"Maybe Natsu was right; maybe there's something wrong with me." Lucy whispered to herself, running a hand through her hair, tugging lightly. Now that she had cooled down

" _There's something wrong with you, alright."_

Lucy stiffened, fear coiled like a spring in her gut and her heart rate sky rocketed. "Yami." She whispered, bowing her head. She could sense that she was behind her, every muscle was screaming at her to turn around but she willed herself not to.

"Please." Lucy whispered, she was none to ashamed of begging, "please, not today, Yami." She was shaking, her whole body trembling. Lucy couldn't hold back the tears anymore and they streamed freely down her cheeks, Yami always seemed to bring out the worst in her. She could not take this today. She knew Yami was going to ridicule her about yelling at Natsu. She was already tearing herself apart about it as is.

Apparently, Yami did not care. " _You resort to begging now?"_ She sneered, Lucy could not see her but she could practically feel those dark brown eyes narrowing. The blonde shivered as she felt Yami's cold touch along her arm, Lucy bit her lip trying not to cry. Her stomach doing summersaults as her whole body recoiled with disgust. " _You really are a disappointment. What would Aquarius say?"_

"Don't being Aquarius into this." Lucy managed to grit out. Yami's fingers trailed up along her forearm before halting when what Lucy said reached her ears.

The Celestial Mage flinched as Yami's fingers that were identical to her own began to dig into her forearm. Blood began to bubble up between her finger nails, trailing down and pooling below her arm onto the table below. There was almost an unbelievable amount of blood for such a small wound.

Lucy couldn't move, she tried to will herself to get out of Yami's grip but it was like she was frozen. She could only stare in horror at the blood that kept adding up and up. The pool got bigger and bigger, spreading across the table. Eventually reaching the edge of the wood and began to drip down to the ground below, staining her carpet a deep crimson.

Yami opened her mouth to say something when a familiar voice yelled from just outside the kitchen. "Lucy!" Lucy felt relief bubble up in her gut as Yami disappeared in a cloud of whisping smoke. She was almost tempted to jump around with joy. Quickly she put her left hand over her bleeding forearm, attempting to stop the flow of blood. Whilst she attempted to calm her trembling and tears.

Yami had never physically hurt her before. How could she when she was just a figure of Lucy's imagination? How was this possible? How had she drawn blood! If Lucy was scared before she was terrified now. Yami could physically hurt her, before Lucy had taken comfort in knowing that she couldn't physically harm her. But this changed everything, Yami could hurt her; or even worse, her friends! What where the limits to this beings powers and when would she be satisfied?

Natsu came crashing in his eyes wide, the smell of blood was sickening to his nose. It almost felt as if he was on a vehicle the way his stomach dropped. Green eyes immediately closing in on his teammate's bleeding forearm. He was next to her in a flash, gently taking her right arm, studying the wound. The four deep crescent moon indents were hard to make out with so much blood.

Natsu looked up at Lucy, worry clear in his green eyes, she was trembling, her heart rate was so fast it was worrying, fat tears slid down her cheeks dripping down onto her black joggers. Natsu's heart aches at the sight of her in so much pain. What made it worse was that she didn't even seem to see him or take note of his presence. She just stared at nothing, a horrified look plastered on her face.

Natsu looked at her left hand, which was covered in her own blood. When he came in it looked as if Lucy was doing this to herself. "Lucy... What did you do?" He choked out, his stomach dropping at the thought of Lucy hurting herself.

At the sound of his voice she seemed to snap out of it, she stopped trembling for a moment and looked up at him, her face wide with shock. "Y-you think _I_ did this?" She choked out, desperately gesturing to her arm.

Natsu felt annoyance rise in his chest, she was playing the innocence card when he had caught her in the act. "Luce, I saw you do it!"

Lucy looked confused, but mostly hurt, "N-no!" She exclaimed, her breath coming out faster. "It wasn't me!" her breath started to come out in sickening wheezes. But she tried to continue whilst crying, making her situation worse. "I-I would never! It was Y-Ya..." Lucy began to cough, a hacking wet coughs that sent Natsu reeling as he tried to calm her down, knowing full well what would happen if she didn't. Her breath came out in sickening wheezes, each exhale long and inhale dangerously short. She was hyperventilating.

Lucy had never hyperventilated before, so she had no idea what was going on. She realized she couldn't inhale, almost like being in water. Her mind instantly went back to Tarteros.

She was in that gross murky green water again, it was so thick and slimy Lucy hadn't been sure if it was water at all. But she had to take the chance, Aquarius was her only hope and she prayed to Mavis that for once, the mermaid wouldn't ignore her Summons.

Breaking out of the murky water, Lucy held up her first key. The golden surface glinting in the dim lights of Plutogrim. "Open. Gate of the Water Bearer...!"

She heard Virgo and Loke's faint voices screaming at her to stop, or that's what she thought they were saying, it seemed there was water in her ears. She took a deep breath about to say the last part of her spell when something; or someone, she was not sure, shook her. "Lucy!" A familiar but not voice yelled. Who was Lucy?

 _Lucy_...

 _'Lucy is my name'_ , she thinks. But she does know that voice, better than she knows her own. It's Natsu's voice. Her partner. Her best friend.

Like an illusion spell, the world around her shattered and she was back in her apartment. Sitting on her creaky wooden chair, hunched over not able to breath. Her forearm still gushing blood and she felt as if she had been spinning in circles for days the way her head was pounding.

"Lucy, listen to me." Natsu snarled, pulling her off the chair and onto the ground gently but still urgently. The blonde was half in his lap now, staring at the ceiling as she tried to breath in.

"Luce." Natsu tried to keep his voice calm, like Igneel did when this happened to him once. "Do what I do, yeah?" He pushed the hair out if her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Breath in, slowly." Natsu said, taking in a steady gulp of air.

Lucy watched him before trying her best to do what he did. "Now, breath out."

Natsu had to guide Lucy through the process for at least five minutes before she had calmed down. Her tears had dried up and she had curled up against his chest. She was fully in his lap now, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she rested. Natsu knew she was sure to be exhausted. Unlike exercise, crying was exhausting physically and mentally as well. And it seemed Lucy was dead on her feet, moments away from drifting off.

The Dragon Slayer gently rubbed soothing circles on her bare back. She was still trembling, and was on the brink of crying again. He was sure if anything happened at all she would break into tears again. This worried Natsu, he had never seen Lucy so broken before in all the years he had known her.

Whatever was happening to her, it was affecting her health, and Natsu was determined to find out what happened to her even if it was the last thing he did. He wanted the old Lucy back, the one that he could hang around for hours and laugh and joke without a a care in the world.

So, Natsu comforted perhaps the closest person to him till she drifted off into sleep. He stayed still in the middle of her hard linoleum kitchen floor for hours as Lucy snoozed. Ignoring the aches and pains of staying still for so long he just watched her sleep with content.

Her face burried against his scarf, her whole body pressed against his. She seemed oddly comfortable in that awkward position. But little did Natsu know this was the best sleep Lucy had had in months.

* * *

 **AN: I am on a role! Whoop whoop!**

 **I've been updating this one daily! Haha I'm sure some of you are annoyed cause I haven't updated my other fanfic in like two weeks... Hehe...**

 **Anywho, for those who haven't hyperventilated before it is some scary crap okay? It happened to me before when I was like ten and I thought I was literally dying! O.O But my momma guided me through it kinda like how Natsu did so that's where I got the inspiration for this chapter!**

 **I wasn't gonna work on this chapter till tomorrow, really I wasn't. But then a couple of you guys reviewed and got my inspiration to go through the roofs. I finished this chapter in three hours (hopefully you can't tell...)!**

 **Awesome People who reviewed:**

 _ **Saphira Moon: I updated! ^^**_

 _ **Mira.S:**_ **Thank you! I'm so happy you liked it! And who doesn't like a bit of Nalu fluff?**

 _ **Dark Shining Light:**_ **Seriously, you always seem to make my day! XP thanks you so much!**

 **Hope you guys like this chapter and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

 **4**

* * *

 _'You're ashamed of where you're from,_

 _Crying 'cause your father's drunk_  
 _We can't die because we're young_  
 _At least that's what we heard in a song_

 _Fire, fire, fire!_  
 _Fire from the tongues of liars,_  
 _Fire, fire, fire!_  
 _Fire from the tongues of liars'_

 _Fire Fire,_ Flyleaf

* * *

It had been three days since Lucy's incident with Yami, the blonde had been put on house arrest by Natsu himself and had been cooped up in her apartment for more than forty eight hours. There wasn't much to entertain her with besides Natsu and Happy and one could get sick of their company very quickly.

Frankly Lucy was becoming stir crazy. She figited in her seat and was currently glaring daggers at her bandaged forearm. Or what looked like it from Happy's vantage point on her bed. She sat at her writing desk, she was doodling awhile ago but had since stopped and stared out the window for a bit. She could be just glaring into nothingness right now, she was in one of her moods. It seemed everyone was in a mood, even him. Ironic because his name was Happy.

Lucy wore a long white shirt that went passed her rear and reached the middle of her thigh. The thin white shirt was so thin, one could see the grey tank top underneath easily. On her legs she had a black pair of pajama shorts that couldn't be seen thanks to her shirt, even while sitting down. Her hair was tied in a loose braid, still a little damp from her shower an hour ago.

Happy's dark brown gaze swivelled over to his pink haired companion. Who was as far away as physically possible without being in a different room then Lucy. He wore his standard white baggy pants but had taken off his shirt a while ago, his scarf sat loosely on his shoulders not yet wrapped around his neck. The dragon slayer stiffly ran a towel through his dripping pink locks. The towel covered his face at the moment, but annoyance was clear in his stiff posture.

It occured to Happy that close quarters between the two mages for an extended period of time was never a good idea. Happy had thought it was hilarious the first time it happened but now it was grating on his nerves.

With Lucy annoyed at Natsu for keeping her on house arrest and insisting to watch over her at all times, and Natsu's ire at Lucy for being angry at him... They argued about anything and everything. Honestly, it was getting on his nerves, and that's saying something.

"Can we go and do _something_?" Lucy gritted out, breaking the stiff silence, turning slightly to glare at Natsu from the corner of her eyem "We've been cooped up in here for three stinkin' days!"

"It is ten o'clock at night, Luce. Or can't you tell time anymore?" Natsu mocked, pulling his towel away from his face to glance at the Celestial Spirit Mage.

"Oh, I forgot you have special need, right Natsu?" Lucy shot back, uncrossing her legs. Happy had done his best to ignore them for the past several days, he really did. But when his two favorite people argued at all hours of the day about stuff even they didn't know why the were arguing about... Happy was getting very irritated.

"I'm the one with special needs? At least I didn't have servants to dress me every morning, _Princess_."

"Who're you calling 'princess'? I'm not the one with pink hair!" Lucy seethed, fully turning around, crossing her arms as she glared at the Dragon Slayer across the room. Her stomach roiling like there was a raging forest fair in her gut. Happy screamed into one of Lucy's pillows in exasperation. Did they notice? Nope.

"Really now? I'm sorry, but I think you deserve that title far more than me. Considering you grew up in a freakin' castle!" Natsu growled standing up, the temperature in the room beginning to rise with his growing annoyance.

"Ah, yes." Lucy snarled, standing up as well. That was probably the first time she had agreed to anything with Natsu in three days. "At least I didn't grow up in the forest like a bloody animal!"

"What of it? You jealous, Luce?"

Happy glared at the two seething mages. They were becoming downright cruel towards one another and Happy did not like it one bit. They stormed towards each other both glaring at the other.

Lucy huffed, they were nose to nose now glaring into each others eyes. Natsu's fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white as he silently snarled down at Lucy. The shorter blonde didn't even seem to notice the major height difference, her eyes alight with a barely contained fire. If the two mages were anyone else, Happy was sure they would've attacked each other by now. "As if, Dragon Boy! Who would want to live in a dingy old forest with an overgrown lizard?"

If Lucy wasn't so frustrated or angry, she would've never dared to say anything bad about Igneel, Natsu's father. Lucy held nothing but deep respect for the old fire Dragon and knew that Natsu had lived him dearly. Somewhere deep in her mind knew she would regret that later. Even Happy flinched when the words came out of her mouth.

A flash of hurt crossed Natsu's face before it was replaced by anger, not annoyance, but anger. "Yeah? Well at least I actually _had_ a parent! What did you have?"

Happy tried to tell himself they didn't mean any of what they were saying. That they were just frustrated and taking it out on each other. But the both of them were going down a very sensitive road and if either of them went to far down it their relationship could shatter.

Happy acted quickly, not wanting their argument to go any farther then it did. "ENOUGH!" The blue cat hollored as loud as his little exceed lungs could allow.

Both froze instantly backing away from one another. Happy felt like Erza for a moment, the way they instantly flinched at the sound of his voice. Of course Happy, as a cat, couldn't sense sexual tension and the duo had completely forgotten he was there. He didn't need to know that though.

"You two are going to drive me insane!" Happy glared at both of them. They lowered their heads looking at the ground like children in trouble. "Why don't you try being nice to each other?" He asked in a parental tone, which was a first for Happy because usually he was the immature one.

"He started it!" Lucy explained pointing to Natsu childishly, her lip sticking out in a pout. Happy was just happy neither of them seemed to be bothered by the cruel words they through at each other.

"I don't care who started it I'm ending it!" Happy hissed, his fur going on end in his annoyance.

Natsu tried not to laugh. He really did. But seeing Happy of all people angry was the funniest thing in the world to him. When Happy got angry, he looked like a giant ball of blue fur with humongous eyes. It was very hard to take the little guy seriously.

His shoulders shook in silent laughter as he kept his head parallel to the ground so Happy wouldn't see. But a small chuckle made its way passed his lips and Happy's attention snapped to him.

"Something funny, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Nope." Natsu could barely get the words out without laughing in the poor exceeds face. Of course, Happy was in no mood for Natsu's antics. So, the blue exceed did the unfathomable; something not even the Fire Dragon King, Igneel himself dared to do.

He sent Natsu to the corner.

Lucy was grinning like the Cheshire cat, sticking her tongue out and Natsu and doing a little victory dance. She pointed at Natsu and laughed into her hand silently mocking him.

She got sent to a corner too.

"Honestly, you two are full grown adults!" Happy exclaimed, digging his paws into his closed eyes as if stressed.

The two "adults" sulked in their respected corners, giving each other silent glares. Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. Natsu flipped her off. And thus the silent battle of derogatory hand signals continued.

Happy was just content with peace and quiet. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes to get a cat nap in.

* * *

Lucy didn't really think it was her fault that she was in such a bad mood. She didn't know why, but everything Natsu did infuriated her to no end. Happy was right, she was acting like a child. Though, she wouldn't really say Natsu made her angry per say, just annoyed. For some reason, everything he did or said annoyed her. But not really in a bad way.

In a way, Lucy was in a great mood despite being sent to the corner at age eighteen. Yami hadn't shown herself for three days now, Natsu slept in her bed with her at night so she wasn't plagued with bad dreams.

Though Natsu was being very annoying most of the time, secretly she was enjoying both his and Happy's company. Much to Lucy's horror and shame, Natsu had told the whole of Fairy Tail that she had hurt herself. The news spread like wildfire fire and she was sure even Jellal knew about it by now.

At the beginning Lucy had denied it ferverently. After all, Natsu had scowered her apartment up and down and no one else's scent had been there or on her person. So who could it be?

How about a figment of Lucy's imagination hellbent on destroying her life and sanity? It even sounded crazy in Lucy's head, and the Celestial Mage didn't think she was sound in the head at the moment.

Members of Fairy Tail came by almost everyday to see how she was doing. Erza had sat down with Lucy the day afterwards and the two had a little pity party. It felt nice... To talk to someone about how she was feeling. Erza had also had a horrific experience and Tarteros so she could relate very closely to Lucy.

The blonde knew she was being incredibly selfish. Everyone had had an horibble experience when the demons of Zeref's book attacked. Natsu had truelly lost his father. As did Gray, Juvia was forced to kill Silver Fullbuster indirectly which she knew destroyed the water mage inside. Lucy and Juvia had always been close since being in the Tower of Heaven. Their magics seemed to intertwine everytime they were close to one another, maybe that's why she was always so comfortable with the bluenette.

Erza had been tortured to an unfathomable degree. Only with Jellal helping her through the aftermaths of the experience was she able to reach a semi normal state.

Was she really that weak minded that all of her friends could recover from their experiences but she could not? Lucy knew she was weak but she should be able to get passed this! Lucy gritted her teeth silently, careful not to let either Natsu or Happy know the direction her thoughts were heading.

It had then occured to her that no one had known she had sacrificed Aquarius. Of course, the Celestial Spirit King disappeared before everyone was revived. Did they all think she was powerful enough to annihilate a mass as mighty as Plutogrim by herself?

One would think she would've gone to extremes and be curious on how exactly she had done it. Deep down, Lucy was bitter at all of them for not asking her what happened. Perhaps if she faced it right away she wouldn't be a mess right now.

Nonetheless, Lucy didn't feel it was the right time to cry about that with someone yet. And as much as she loved Erza, the requip mage didn't seem like the right person to tell first. The blonde didn't know why she was being hush hush about Aquarius. Perhaps she didn't want to face completely on what happened. Or just the fact that she didn't want to relive it willingly just yet.

Lucy wasn't ready to let go of Aquarius yet. She didn't know if she would ever be.

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 **AN: Hi guys, sorry I was late on this chapter. There was this massive wind storm where I live, 70 mile an hour winds and the like; my power was out for three days. It didn't help that winter is almost here and my house was freezing cold (I think it was actually warmer outside than inside xD). But yeah, my power came back on a couple hours ago so I was able to finish this chapter up!**

 **So this chapter was basically filler. Sorry. Both Natsu and Lucy are frustrated and are taking it out on each other. Luckily Happy is there to calm them down. I know it seems they were both just a little bit cruel towards each other but I think we've all been there when we say stuff that we regret. Both of them are going through pretty rough times right now, so I wouldn't blame them.**

 **Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed!**

 _ **Mira.S -**_ **I know, I thought that would be pretty creepy too, and nice prediction! But sadly I do not want to spoil the ending of this story for you so your gonna have to wait! Dx**

 _ **Guest :**_ **Thank yooouuu!**

 _ **Dark Shining Light \- **_**No, thank YOU for reading! Glad you like this story! ^^**


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